Slub catcher



Dec. 13, 1960 s. L. ABBOTT 2,963,769

SLUB CATCI-IER Filed Dec. 15, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 S. L. ABBOTT SLUB CATCHER Dec. 13, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 15, 1958 United States Patent SLUB CATCHER Samuel L. Abbott, Wilton, .N.H.,,ass ignor to Abbott Mariled Dec. 15, 1958, Ser.- No. 780,458

7 fi a m (C -1 7 .4)

In many cases the question of whether a slub will or will not be caught .by a slub catcher depends .upon whether enough gripping or breaking action can be exerted on the slub before the slub can escape from confinement. Many slubs .are tapered and compressible and so can work theirrway through a slotconsiderably narrower than the apparent size of the slub and even through a slot having a width of about the normal diameter of the yarn.

,lnthe general type of slub catcher in which the actual catching occurs outside of the normal yarn path, the slubs being deflected into the catching section or zone by an inclined edge or edges, there is the risk that the slub may escape before it can besufliciently deflected and caught in the catching section, especially when ,the slub is not long and the tail of the slub is tapered.

In order to distinguishbetween slubs and unobjectionable enlargements such as knots and nibs, the devices of my United States Patent No. 2,625,732, dated January V20, 1953, use one pair of blades or opposed surfaces to deflect both types of enlargements. A second pair of blades or opposed surfaces, ahead of theother pair but outside of the normal yarn path, is provided to deflect further any slub which is deflected in between these blades or surfaces by the first pair, and also snag and break the slub. An enlarged exit for knots or nibs is provided in the slot defined by the first pair of elements, and since a knot or nib is not long enough to be engaged by the second pair of elements while being deflected by the first pair the knot or nib leaves through the exit and the yarn returns to its usual path without having been diverted into the snagging or catching section of the second pair of elements. This involves snagging'the slub at a place which lies ahead of rather-than beyond the aforesaid exit. That is, the part of the yarn that is snagged is a part that ha not yet reached the exit. Since a slub is generally passing through the blades while it is being diverted toward the snagging section, the occurrence to be feared is that by the time a slub reaches this same exit there will not be enough of its tail left between the second pair of blades to permit itto be further deflected and snagged.

Thus it would be desirable to make provisions .forsnagging the slub at a place beyond the deflecting means instead of ahead of the deflecting means.

A proposalto catch slubs beyond .the deflecting means is contained in British patent specification No. 717,907.

Knots present a serious problemIin an attemptito catch slubs beyond instead of aheadof the deflecting means.

A slot wide enoughto allow knots to pass through would be too wide for reliable'deflection'of small, ,soft slubs. Accordingly, as a practical matter, a definite exit for knots, other than the slot which deflects both the knots and the slubs, is desirable. It is desirable to snag a slub close to this exit in order to catch soft slubs.

I have found that knots when deflected by an inclined edge tend to travel out beyond the region bounded by a a lin e mm h rsir wl a the 49 i is ice freed from the deflecting edge to thevyarn guide beyond the deflecting edge. The knot, since unable to work its way through the slot in the manner of a slub will have a motion altogether along the inclined path of deflection. It may be considered that a knot will gain considerable momentum, parallel to the deflecting edge, due to its movement being altogetherin this direction/and 'due to the slight friction of the knot moving along a sharp edge, andthat accordingly a knot may. somewhat. overrun the knot exit, at least to the extent of not immediately starting back toward the normal yarn path.

Moreover, it can be seen-that substantial tension in the yarn ahead of the slub catcher is necessary for quick reversal of travel of the yarntoward thenormal running position. The tension would ordinarily be verylowlin by the knot striking the slub catcher blades. ltmayrbe that the time required for recovery of this tension .accounts for the outward overtravel of the kllOtuOI failure to start backto normal running position quickly enough to avoid a catching means forslubslocated beyond the deflecting edge, but near this edge so that short .slubs would not escape. This problem of course does not arise when the only slub-catching sectionis located wholly ahead of thedeflecting blade and the knot isby-passed around this slub-catching section as in my aforesaid patent. Yet as explained aboveit would'be desirable to provide for catching the slub beyond the deflecting blade.

Therefore oneobject of the invention is to provide ,a slub catcher adapted to distinguish between slubs on the one hand andknots or nibson the otherhand, ;in which .the yarn is not subject to any substantial constrictivevor scraping action in the normal yarn path, the catching being done in a zone into which the slub i deflected outside of the normal yarn path and located-where the slub has traveled beyond the place where a-knot or other short enlargement reaches its extreme deflection. This affords the opportunity to catch slubs which haveworked their way a considerable distance past the slub catcher entrance.

The invention makes it possible to use a relatively long zone of confinement in which a slub is trapped even though it has worked its way wholly beyond the edges that have displaced it into this zone.

cally at intervals for the purpose of removing waste and the United States patent of E. J. Abbott No. 2,623,265 may be taken as an example of this practice. However in these devices that open the blades the slub catcher is not effective when the blades are open. Qbviously if the blades are open more often during windingtthere is an increased chance of failing to catch a slub. The

preferred form of slub catcher illustrated herewith is constructed and arranged so that one of its members can be given a frequent or even continual movement withithe effect of preventing accumulation of waste while still maintaining the effectiveness of the slub catching action.

In the accompanying drawings, a Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing the cover .plate of an individual winder unit, with some parts removed, and showing the slub catcher of the presentinvention thereon; 2 is a view generally inplan of the slub catcher some parts omitted;

and associated parts, the cover plate however being shown in horizontal section;

Fig. 3 is a left elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1 with Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale;

Fig; 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 55 of Fig.1 on anenlarged scale and showing the normal path of the yarn;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a slub deflected and caught; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a small enlargement such as a nib passing through the slub catcher; and V Fig. 8 is a view like Fig. 3 showing the movable block of the slub catcher shifted slightly along the fixed block for the purpose of preventing accumulation of waste but still maintaining the slub catcher effective.

The invention is especially adaptable to slub catchaers of the sliding block type in which the slub catcher includes two blocks, one of which is slidable relative to the other, and in this type of machine the invention presents the advantage that the slub catcher is still effective to catch slubs while the slidable block is being moved 'back and forth to prevent the accumulation of waste.

The invention is shown as embodied in a modification of the sliding block slub catcher disclosed in the E. J. Abbott United States Patent No. 2,623,265 and for simplicity of explanation it may first be noted that the parts of the machine herein generally correspond to those shown in the said E. J. Abbott patent excepting that the cooperating fixed and movable blocks 40 and 41 are different both in construction and mode of operation as compared to the blocks 40 and 41 of the patent. Also, either in place of or in addition to'the relatively infrequent sliding movement of the movable block that exiposes the yarn passage-defining surface of the sliding block 41 in the E. J. 'Abbott patent, provision is preferably made for a more frequent but shorter sliding movement of the movable block. Although applicable to winders generally, the device as in Patent No. 2,623,265 is shown as applied to a traveling spindle winder having individual winding units. The cover plate of one such winding unit is indicated at 24. The yarn Y passes upwardly and runs successively against guide blocks 21 and 22 and thence to the thread guide and winding package which are not shown herein but may be seen in the E. 1. Abbott patent. Tension disks 30 and 31 are located to act on the yarn below the slub catcher.

Block 40 is fixedly mounted on the cover plate and block 41 is slidably supported by a plate 44. Block 41 is recessed to receive a plunger 48 slidingly held within a crank arm 49 and urged against the block 40 by an interior spring 51. I

Crank arm 49 is secured to the upper end of a shaft 50 which is rotatable in a bracket 52 and bent at its lower portion to form a further crank arm 53. A spring 56 connected to the upright 11 0f the winding unit and to the crank arm 53 urges the crank arms 53 and 49 toward the position shown in Fig. 2 which is the position corresponding to full retraction of the slidable block 41. As the winding unit travels around the machine, to the left in Fig. 2, the lower crank arm 53 engages a series of stationary cams 57a mounted on the upperrail of the machine, each of which acts to force the crank arm 53 slightly to the right in Fig. 2, which results in sliding the slidable block 41 forwardly (toward the observer in Fig. 1, or to the right in Fig. 3) from which position the block is returned by means of the spring 56. The cams 57a may be so closely disposed as to keep the block 41 in continual motion as the winding unit travels past the cams. 7 Block 40.as seen from the front in Fig. 1 and in hori zontal section, Fig. 4, has a plane vertical left face. The rear portion of the sliding block 41 has a plane, right face to slide in contact with block 40 and the forward part of the block 41 is cut away as will be described. This forward part of block 41 is likewise generally plane but upwardly converges toward the opposed face of the block 40 to form a tapered slot. A typical example of formation of the tapered'slot would be, starting with a rectangular cross section for block 41, to cut this away on a plane taper which would amount to cutting away 0.010 inch at the bottommost edge where the block is to rest upon plate 44 and 0.005 inch at the top edge. The slot thus formed is shown as tapered in Fig. 1, but its width is necessarily exaggerated in this figure.

Viewed from the side as in Fig. 3, the bottoms of both blocks 40 and 41 are cut away on an inclination of approximately 30 to the vertical to provide edges capable of deflecting enlargements away from the normal yarn path.

An enlargement can be deflected by a single such inclined edge, so in some cases, it may be found desirable to omit the cutting away of the fixed blade 40, leaving this as in Patent No. 2,623,265. However, the deflecting action is probably increased by cutting away both blocks as shown. Moreover, the clearing of lint and fly from the slub catcher is facilitated by having both blocks cut away as shown. a

The normal yarn path is shown in Fig. 5, this being the path established by guide blocks 21 and 22, and, if desired, by the forward edge of the plate 44. With the example of cutting away of the block 41 given above, which would be suitable for No. 30s cotton yarn having a diameter of approximately 0.007 inch, the yarn will enter between the blocks 40 and 41 where a gap of 0.010 inch is provided. a

A gap of 0.005 inch at the exit or top of the block 41 would be too narrow a gap for continuous running of this No. 30s cotton, but as will be seen the block 41 has a groove having connected vertical and inclined portions This groove may be ,6 inch wide and inch deep, away from the observer in Fig. 5. The vertical portion of this groove includes the upper part of the normal yarn path and extends down approximately half way to the entrance. Thus the normally running yarn is not sub ject to the action of surfaces any closer to each other than the mean between 0.010 inch and. 0.005 inch, i.e., about 0.0075 inch. 7

The inclined portion of slot 100 meets the inclined lower edge 101 of block 41 and can receive a knot or nib that has been deflected as far as the entrance to this slot.

A slub S encountering the inclined deflecting edge indicated at 101, Fig. 6, will be deflected laterally along the edge. Depending upon the length of the slub, it will wholly or partially enter in between the blocks, for example as shown in Fig. 6. Breakage will occur reliably because the slub encounters a gripping zone which tapers to only 0.005 inch.

It will be 'seen that the action differs from that of the device of my prior patent. In the present device the slub catching section where the slub is caught as in Fig. 6 engages and acts upon a slub portion beyond the deflecting edge 101. There is therefore less opportunity for a slub toescape without being caught. At the same time, knots and nibsare positively and effectively kept out of the slub catching section.

When it is stated that the slub catching section acts upon a slub portion this is not meant to imply that it is necessarily only a part of the slub that is acted on; as indicated above the whole slub may be between the two blocks.

A nib or knot, for which it is not desired to break the yarn, will likewise be deflected up the inclined edge 101. However when it encounters the entrance to the inclined portion of the slot 100 it enters this slot and travels upwardly and out of the slub catcher. The slot 100 thus acts as an escape passage for knots or nibs. -In the am ss course of the upward travel, the upper inclined edge 102 of the slot acts to insure that the knot or nib does not enter into the converging zone where slubs are caught, but is deflected to the right and restored into the normal yarn path. The inclination of the inclined portion of slot 100 is such that it converges more abruptly toward the normal yarn path than does a straight line from its entrance to the upper yarn guide block 22. Thus the inclined edge 102 of the slot can exert a positive deflecting action upon a knot or nib, directing this out of the slub catching section.

The slot 100 is large enough so that it could accommodate a slub, but a slub does not fully respond to this slot, probably because the inclination of the inclined part of the slot 100 toward the yarn path is more abrupt than is the inclination of a straight line drawn from the entrance to the slot to the upper guide block 22 and because the slub would need to make a rather abrupt bend in order to align itself with the lower inclined part of the slot. Thus the slub does not bend into the inclined part of the slot 190 but passes in between the converging upper portions of the two blocks and becomes snagged there.

A seed which is retained by the yarn will tend to be deflected by the inclined edge 101. For seeds so firmly held that they are not knocked ofi by this inclined edge but enter the groove the groove 100 furnishes a means of exit without jamming the seed in the tapered slub catching section. A seed which becomes completely separated from the yarn by striking the inclined edge 102 of the groove is free to fall back out of the groove entrance. A seed which remains adhering to the yarn can be carried along with the yarn up the groove and out through the top exit of the groove.

The frequent, or if desired, continual, back and forth movement of the block 41 is designed to prevent the accumulation of waste without suspending the slub catching action.

The forward and backward movement of the block 41 from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 8 is in the region of for example inch. The inclined edge 101 of block 41 is adapted to engage and deflect an enlargement in the yarn throughout this range of movement, leading a slub into the slub catching section between the two blocks. In the illustrated device the inclined edge 103 of block 40 can assist in the deflecting action throughout this range of movement of block 41. The blocks 40 and 41 present opposed faces to receive and snag a slub so deflected and the slot 100 provides an escape exit for short enlargements. Since the movement of block 41 is in the direction parallel to the slot formed between the blocks, the widthwise extent of the slot is maintained the same for the different positions of the block 41. Thus the slub catcher remains fully eflective during this action.

It would of course be consistent with this construction and mode of operation to additionally completely open the slub catcher at times when Winding is periodically suspended, in the manner taught by the said E. I. Abbott patent, and in Fig. 2 an actuating cam 57 having a considerably greater throw than the cams 57a is provided for this purpose.

I claim:

1. A slub catcher having a slub catching section disposed laterally of the normal yarn path, a deflecting edge extending from the normal yarn path at an inclination thereto for deflecting an enlargement laterally into the slub catching section, said slub catching section and said deflecting edge being so located relative to each other that the slub catching section acts upon a slub portion beyond the deflecting edge, and an escape passage for short enlargements, said escape passage leading from said deflecting edge and having itself a second deflecting edge inclined oppositely to the first deflecting edge and leading back toward the normal yarn path to divert the short enlargement from the slub catching section.

2. A slub catcher including first and second yarn guides 6 successively engaging the yarn to define a normal yarn path, the slub catcher having a slub catching section dis posed laterally of the normal yarn path, a deflecting edge extending from the normal yarn path at an inclination thereto for deflecting an enlargement laterally into the slubcatching section, said slub catching section and said deflecting edge being so located relative to each other that the slub catching section acts upon a slub portion beyond the deflecting edge, and an escape passage for short enlargements, said escape passage leading from said deflecting edge and having itself a second deflecting edge leading back toward the normal yarn path to divert the short enlargement from the slub catching section, the entrance part of the escape passage converging more abruptly toward the normal yarn path than does a straight line from its entrance to the second yarn guide.

3. A slub catcher including opposed elements defining between them the passage for the yarn and means establishing a normal path for the yarn within said passage, opposed surfaces of said elements laterally of the normal path forming a slub gripping section, the slub catcher including a deflecting edge extending from the normal yarn path at an inclination thereto and tending to deflect an enlargement laterally to carry a slub into the slub gripping section, the said opposed surfaces which form a slub gripping section being located to act on a slub portion beyond said deflecting edge, and an escape passage for short enlargements, said escape passage leading from said deflecting edge and having itself a second deflecting edge inclined oppositely to the first deflecting edge and leading back toward the normal yarn path to divert the small enlargement from the slub gripping section.

4. A slub catcher including opposed elements confining between them the passage for the yarn and means establishing a normal path for the yarn within said passage, and the opposed surfaces of said elements being generally plane and converging toward each other from entrance to exit to form a slot of tapered cross section, there being at the entrance to said slot a deflecting edge extending from the normal yarn path at an inclination thereto and tending to deflect an enlargement laterally, there being superimposed upon the tapered slot 21 grooved passage leading from the inclined edge toward the normal yarn path.

5. A slub catcher including opposed elements defining between them the passage for the yarn and means establishing a normal path for the yarn within said passage, the opposed surfaces of said elements being generally plane and coverging toward each other from entrance to exit to form a slot of tapered cross section, there being at the entrance to said slot a deflecting edge extending from the normal yarn path at an inclination thereto and tending to deflect an enlargement laterally, there being superimposed upon the tapered slot at grooved passage leading from the inclined edge to the normal yarn path and thence along the normal yarn path to the exit from said opposed elements.

6. A slub catcher including opposed members between which the yarn runs, one at least of said members including a slub deflecting edge extending at an inclination to the yarn path, and means for automatically moving one of said members back and forth relative to the other within a range of movement throughout which at least one such slub deflecting edge is presented to an enlargement in the running yarn and portions of said two members are in opposed relation to receive and snag a slub deflected thereto by the slub deflecting edge, thereby to prevent the accumulation of waste in the slub catcher while maintaining its slub catching action.

7. A slub catcher including opposed members between which the yarn runs, said members having opposed portions defining a snagging slot of predetermined widthwise extent appropriate to receive and snag a slub in the 7 yarn, one at least of said members including a' slub deflecting edge extending at an inclination to the yarn path, said edge being arranged to deflect a slub to said snagging slot, and means for automatically moving one of said members back and forth to difierent positions relative to the other within a range of movement throughout which at least one such sluh deflecting edge is presented to an enlargement in the running yarn, said movementbeing References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bn'nk Aug. 14, 1951 Abbott Dec. 30, 1952 

